


Tall and Tan and Young

by NYCScribbler



Category: Women's Basketball RPF
Genre: Gen, overseas shenanigans, unsupervised adults
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2018-03-02 13:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2812946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYCScribbler/pseuds/NYCScribbler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I figure that if I spend some time in the sun I can easily be tall and tan and young.  (Lovely is up to interpretation.)  Of course, when I pass- each one I pass- will probably go, 'Damn! That girl is tall!'"- Rebecca Lobo</p><p>Or, what happens when you have a free day in Rio.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [distira](https://archiveofourown.org/users/distira/gifts).



Maya woke bright and early, stretched, and opened the curtains to look out at the city below her. Brilliant sunlight spilled into the room and across both beds.

Skylar made a disgruntled noise in the back of her throat and put a pillow over her head, then pulled her sheet over the pillow. Maya turned at the rustle and smothered a laugh. "So I'm gonna guess you'll pass on an early workout and a trip through the neighborhood?" she asked. "Nah? Even the beach won't convince you?"

Skylar's answer was another unintelligible grunt.

Maya shook her head with a faint smile and went about her morning routine- quietly, so as to not disturb her roommate. Once she was clean, fresh, and ready to face the world, she put on her workout clothes and headed down to the gym.

To her pleased surprise, she wasn't the only one there. Elena was on the bench press, lifting with a look of distant determination set on her face. Maya waited until she had finished the rep, then said, "Want a spotter?"

"Only if it wouldn't keep you from your workout," Elena replied, but her smile made it clear that Maya's offer was welcome.

"Safety first," Maya said with an answering smile of her own.

They worked together in a comfortable quiet punctuated only by the sounds of working out: Maya's voice softly counting off reps, the clanks and squeaks of the machines, small grunts from Elena, then the reverse as Maya took her reps and Elena spotted her.

Once they were done, Elena asked, "This is the last real free day before everything goes crazy, right? Before the tournament starts?"

"Pretty much," Maya replied. "If it isn't games, it's practice, and if it isn't that, it's some other thing. I don't think I could've told you it was London without looking at all that paperwork we have to carry around."

"That's what I thought. I want to bring something nice back for Lizzie, so this would be the day to do it. Care to join me?"

"Sure. Might as well do some Christmas shopping while we're here- probably won't be back again."

"...Maya, it's August."

Maya shrugged. "I like to be ready. You know how it is- things get crazy, and then you're traveling, and the next thing you know it's December and you're halfway across the world."

Elena shook her head, but she was smiling. "If it makes you happy. I think there's a taxi stand in front of the hotel. We can go down to that artsy district- what's it called again?"

Maya shrugged. "Got a guidebook in my bag. We can figure out where we want to go once we ask for the cab. We'll have time while we're waiting."

They showered and changed, then headed up to the lobby. But along the way, Elena spotted Brittney staring down a vending machine with a faint hint of panic surrounding her. She pulled a bill out of the wallet chained to her pocket and poked the machine with it a couple of times, with no apparent effect.

"BG, what are you hassling that vending machine for?" Maya asked after watching the scene for a moment.

"I want the Skittles, but the machine won't take my money, and I'm starting to cross that line between hungry and hangry, y'know?" Brittney explained.

"How 'bout you come with us? We're gonna go play tourist, and somewhere in Rio de Janeiro there's got to be someplace where you can get breakfast," Maya suggested.

"Sure. And I wouldn't mind doing some window shopping before Glory comes down." Mischief lit Brittney's face, and she gave her teammates a devilish smile.

"Beach after shopping?" Maya suggested.

"I _meant_ at the beach," Brittney replied. "Y'all mind giving me a minute to get my stuff and put something on I didn't just roll out of bed in?"

"We still have to call the cab and figure out where we're going, so take as much time as you need," Elena said.

Maya raised an eyebrow, as if to say _famous last words_.

 

But Brittney, rainbow-framed sunglasses and all, was ready well before the battered blue sedan pulled up in front of the hotel. Elena hesitated when she got her first look at the car and the tape around the edges of its windows. "Maybe we should call another cab," she said.

"Best we're gonna get," Maya said with the experience of a world traveler. "Shotgun!"

"C'mon!" Brittney protested, sweeping a hand along her swim trunks.

"Shotgun!" Maya repeated, and before either Brittney or Elena could react, she had her hand around the front door handle and had climbed halfway into the seat.

Brittney gave her an exaggerated pout, then folded herself into the backseat behind the driver's seat, making a point of pulling her legs up as much as she could to give the impression of being squished. Elena settled in next to her, bag settled neatly into her lap, sunscreen smeared over every possible inch of her skin to give the impression that she had been painted.

"Where you go?" the cabby asked, his English heavily accented.

Before anyone else could say anything, Brittney started singing. "'Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking...' and that's kinda the only part I know."

"'And when she passes, each one she passes goes aaaahhhh,'" Maya continued, starting to drum out the beat on the dashboard.

"Something something samba, too, right?" Brittney added.

Elena's face settled into a politely neutral expression. "Ipanema Beach, por favor," she told the driver.

The cabby nodded and hit the gas, and all three of them held on for dear life as he careened down the streets, slamming the brakes with clear reluctance whenever a red light and its attendant stream of crossing pedestrians forced him to stop. It was in those few moments that the bright colors and high towers of Rio were visible as more than fast-moving blurs against the blue, blue sky.

(Brittney would later swear that she had _not_ whimpered, "Mommy!" at any point during the ride, despite what they thought they heard.)

But when the driver made the last turn down the cross street, the view before them made the harrowing journey worth every real. Cloudless blue sky stretched into infinity until it blended with the blue water. Umbrellas and blankets dotted the blindingly bright sand, and all around them natives and tourists alike strolled both sand and sidewalk in scanty clothing and tanning lotion.

"Here, please," Maya said from the front seat, and as the driver screeched to a stop, she handed him the fare plus a tip, then climbed out of the car, followed closely by the others.

"Are we sticking together?" Elena asked.

A tall blurred figure dashed past both of them, squeal of glee echoing behind her like a sonar signal.

Maya shook her head and gave a helpless laugh. "Think we're gonna have to move fast to keep up with BG," she said.

"All right, but I don't know if I can take as much of the sun as you guys... oh, no, I think that came out wrong, I'm sorry-"

"Don't worry about it. You watch our stuff and get settled, I'll find a flag or something so Britt can find us again."

 

Even with the shade of a blue-green flag, by the time they'd been out for two hours, Elena's skin was starting to itch. Maya had dozed off for a few minutes and woke with sand up her nose. Brittney had returned a half hour into the trip, bearing lipstick marks in four different colors on one cheek and a fading handprint on the other, so she had settled for watching from their spot, whistling and calling out compliments.

"I think my sunscreen's about to give out. You guys want to hit the shopping area? The guidebook says there are a lot of boutiques back that way," Elena said, gesturing aross the sand towards the streets of Ipanema.

"I dunno about boutiques, but one of the girls I was talking to said there was something called a Hippie Fair around here that sounded kind of interesting. Said there was lots of stuff to buy," Brittney said.

"That sounds different. Let's go check that out, and we can always hit the stores if we don't see anything. Elena, you still want to come with?" Maya asked.

Elena nodded and started dismantling their campsite. Towels went into bags, the flag was rolled up and handed to Maya, and they headed towards the strip of sidewalk that separated the beach from the city streets. A two-block walk took them to the plaza, where trees shaded open-air stalls selling all kinds of goods. Elena tried to stand and stare, but the flow of the crowd forced her into motion, and she hurried to keep up with Brittney and Maya.

"I think we'll drive each other a little less crazy if we split up. Meet up at the fountain when we're done so we can get a cab back?" Maya suggested.

"Sure," Brittney said, and Elena nodded agreement.

 

Elena wandered among the stalls, admiring the art as she passed, but not stopping at any of the brilliantly colored paintings. There was no point- as beautiful as they were, Lizzie would never see them, and they would never fit in her luggage anyway. She drifted from table to table, looking for something appropriate to bring back to her sister, though she did stop and splurge on a little leather purse for herself- something to carry around all the little bits of Olympic identification and paperwork she needed to get around the various sites.

One table with carved figurines held her attention, and she went over to it, picking a dark gray toucan up and feeling the smooth stone with her fingertips. She put it down and picked up a larger one of a parrot with its head cocked. "How much?" she asked.

The woman on the other side of the table gave her a price, and it seemed reasonable, so she fished some money out of her wallet and handed it over. The parrot went into her bag, and she went on her way.

She kept her eyes and ears focused on the crowds around her. She didn't need them when it came to Lizzie. Her hands, and her nose, and her tongue, would find her the right gifts for her little sister.

 

Brittney sauntered along the path, trying to take in everything at once. People bumped her shoulders and hips, but she ignored them. Pickpockets didn't worry her; most of her money was tucked under her sports bra, where no one would ever grab it.

She wasn't sure what she wanted- more importantly, what Glory would want. Something pretty, something that meant something, something that would look good on the woman she'd promised her life to. The last thought gave her an idea, and with a devilish smile lurking around her lips, she turned to a stall selling the barely-there bikinis she'd seen so many of on the beach. "Orange?" she asked.

The man stared at her blankly, and she realized his grasp of English was probably as good as her grasp of Portuguese. Pointing ensued until the right item was on the counter. Once it was time to haggle the price, the man's English improved measurably, and Brittney abandoned any worries she might have had about taking advantage of the locals. She was only able to get it down to three-quarters of what he originally wanted for it, but she'd done worse in China, plus he'd given her tips on where to get the best bargains on jewelry.

The sounds of a wandering band caught her ear, and she went towards them, already settling into a dancing step as she went.

 

Maya walked quickly through the market, looking at and discarding stalls in passing glances. She wasn't quite sure what to get her mom, but she knew she would know it when she saw it.

She went from table to table, loading up on little things she'd be able to fit into the edges of her bag: bracelets, shirts, small stone animals, postcards. Mostly she soaked in the atmosphere of chaotic joy that pervaded the plaza; while it was mostly full of tourists, there were more than a few locals buying things, which reassured her. Places that were full of tourists tended to be places that were trying to take advantage of tourists.

Though she wouldn't have admitted it to her friends, her feet were starting to hurt a little, so she stopped at one of the food stands and indulged in something deep-fried and stuffed with spicy shrimp. _Just once won't hurt,_ she rationalized. _I'll work it off._ She took it with her to a bench placed between two booths and nibbled on it, enjoying the atmosphere and the crowds.

As she tucked everything into her bag and redistributed the smaller bags, she caught a snatch of a fast-moving drum beat, and her fingers started echoing it on the wood of the bench. Soon she was nodding her head in time and tapping her foot as the drummers came closer and got louder.

She was utterly unsurprised when one of the dancers shimmying in their wake was Brittney, snapping her fingers slightly off the beat as her dreadlocks flew in all directions. She _was_ surprised when Brittney stopped in front of her and kept dancing. "If you think I'm gonna slip a reai in your waistband, keep walking," she said.

Brittney burst into laughter and sat on the bench next to Maya. "Whoooo-ee, that was fun! Found some pretty bracelets for Glory, and something for her to wear to the beach." She fumbled around the bag and pulled out the orange tanga.

Maya looked at it. "All right, but where's the rest of it?"

Brittney started laughing again.

The scent of the acarajés drew Elena over, though she realized she wasn't going to be able to take any home. She found the others on the bench, Maya staring at Brittney in mild confusion, Brittney letting out small muffled laughs every so often. "What's so funny?"

Brittney held up the tanga. Elena looked at it. "Isn't that a little too big for you?" she asked.

Maya facepalmed and Brittney started laughing again.

"We should get back. It all starts tomorrow, and I gotta work this off," Maya said. "Also, I'm kinda nervous something socially unacceptable is about to happen, and I'm not bailing either of you out."

Both Elena and Brittney gave her looks of affronted innocence, one more persuasive than the other. Maya rolled her eyes and led the way over to the street to hail the cab.

"That was fun. We should do this again sometime. Tokyo?" Brittney asked.

Maya facepalmed again.


	2. The Bonus Shenanigan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Just trying to make sweet love-" Diana Taurasi
> 
> Or, what happened after getting back to the hotel.

The taxi- this one slightly less dilapidated, and thus more soothing to Elena's nerves, pulled up in front of the hotel, and the trio got out. Maya slipped some money through the window after doing math in her head.

As the hotel door opened for another departing guest, screaming could be heard from the lobby. Brittney cocked an ear and frowned. "That's Dee," she said. "And I can't make out a word she's saying."

"Approach with caution and be ready to run fast," Maya advised.

Inside the hotel, bystanders were gathered around the source of the shrieking. Diana was providing half of it, her hair half-out of its customary bun and her face red. Furious streams of Spanish came out of her mouth, high-pitched and run together so that the trio could only make out choice words and phrases- _tu puta madre_ , _cabrona_ , _pendeja_ , and strangely enough, _gol_.

The other half came from a buxom brunette in a blue tank top and tiny white shorts, her red lipstick smeared in places, her hair in disarray. She would have been beautiful had her face not been twisted with rage as she screamed back at Diana at the top of her lungs. Most of the Portuguese was incomprehensible, except for a few repeated words: _puta_ , _porra_ , _buceta_ , _mão_.

The spectacle held most of the people in the lobby transfixed, wondering what was going to happen next. Maya was the first to break free. She stalked over to the nearest person she recognized- Skylar, in workout gear, looking like she'd just come from a long session in the gym- and said, "Explain."

"I only got here in the middle, right when they were staking out sides of the seating area," Skylar said apologetically. "D was still kinda speaking English then, but it was something like 'wanna see the fist of a righteous God?' and then she went full Spanish. Tina was here when I came up, maybe she saw more?"

Maya nodded and scanned the crowd until she found Tina (a more difficult task than she had expected; there were a lot of abnormally tall people in the lobby). "Tina! What happened?"

Tina shook herself as if awakening from a dream and walked over to Maya and the others. "So D picked up a girl at the bar," she said.

"Oh, _no_ ," Brittney groaned. Maya pinched the bridge of her nose.

Elena looked back and forth between them, then at the serious expression on Tina's face. "So I take it that never ends well?"

"I wouldn't say that," Maya said. "It just... never ends normally."

"This looked like it was going to be one of the okay ones, too. Girl was really into D, D was into the girl, it was all going so _well_ , and I still don't understand how or why it escalated so quickly, and no one's been able to get them to _stop_..." Tina buried her face in her hands.

"What happened?" Elena asked gently.

"They started talking about soccer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this scene in my head, but it never quite jived with the rest of the story, so here it is as a bonus feature!
> 
> I have a feeling Diana is going to get all Argentine at the exact wrong moment sometime during the 2016 Games.


End file.
